Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
"No," Neil said. "I don't."
"You're joking," Matt said again.
Neil looked at him. "Riko is an egotist and an asshole. He wants us to react to this. If we do, he wins. Don't give him that satisfaction. Pretend this never happened and focus on the Terrapins."
It took Wymack only a few more moments to pick his side. "No one's changing in here. Get your gear and get out. You can have the girls' room when they're done with it. I will give you one chance tonight," he said when Neil looked at him. "If I think your head isn't in the game, I will pull you so fast you'll get whiplash and Dan will take your place. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Coach," Neil said.
Wymack glanced at the mess one more time, looking a little like he hated himself for siding with Neil. Finally he shook his head and dug Neil's clothes from the small mountain on the floor. "I'll get Abby cleaning this. Someone loan Neil another towel."
"Thank you," Neil said.
"Shut up," Wymack said, and stormed out.
A terrible silence descended in the locker room. Finally Andrew crossed the room to his locker and finished unloading his gear. That was the trigger the others needed, apparently, because they took their things and left. Nicky gave Neil one of his spare towels on his way out. Matt was the last to go, and he hesitated when he realized Neil wasn't moving.
"I'll wash up in here," Neil said, and gestured at his wretched appearance. "I don't want to track this any further than I have to."
Matt accepted that without argument and left Neil in peace. Neil looked at his locker, then resolutely looked away and went to wash up. He stared at the ground as he showered and watched the red slowly fade from the water. Even when the water ran clear he felt like he was dying inside. He washed three times before finally giving up.
As soon as the water cut off, Wymack called to him from out of sight. "Matt went back to Fox Tower to get you some boxers and socks. I brought the spare gear in but you'll have to figure out which ones fit best. I'll bring back your uniform when it's clean. Sit tight until then."
"Yes, Coach," Neil said.
He listened for the door to close behind Wymack and dried off in his stall. The Foxes had a couple sets of backup gear leftover from years when the line was a little bigger. Renee had scrounged armor from there when subbing in as a backliner this past fall. Most of the gear was adjustable, but only to a certain degree. It took Neil trial and error to pick a complete set from the pile Wymack had left him. Then there was nothing to do but wait.
It felt like forever before Matt made it back; game night traffic made the short trek to Fox Tower much longer than it should have been. Neil was jarred from his dire thoughts when someone knocked. He slid off the bench and went to investigate. The gear he'd put on made it impossible to fit the towel around his body. Instead of wrapping it around him, he held it up by his neck and let it hang down his scarred front.
Neil opened the door just far enough to realize it was Matt in the hallway and was startled into saying, "You knocked?"
Matt looked at him oddly. "Abby said she still has your uniform."
It wasn't the first time the Foxes had gone out of their way to accommodate Neil's privacy issues, but they usually had time to think it through. Matt was late for warm-ups because of Neil and shaken by Riko's awful trick. Despite that he'd remembered not to barge in.
"Thank you," Neil finally said, and took the clothes Matt squeezed through the doorway. Matt had brought him an entire outfit so he'd have something to wear after the game. The thought of Matt going through his things made his skin crawl, but Neil fought off that instinctive fit of nerves.
"No problem," Matt said. "Need anything else?"
"A clear shot at Riko and no witnesses," Neil said.
Matt grinned like he thought Neil was joking and left. Neil closed the door behind him and tugged on his underwear and socks. He carried his shoes to the bathroom and rinsed them off in the sink. There was only so much he could do. Blood had soaked into the liner inside. Neil could wear them tonight, but he'd have to replace them as soon as possible. Neil could pull his shorts on over his shoes, so he toed into his shoes and tied them. He paced the locker room, watching the clock so he wouldn't look at the blood.
Finally Wymack showed up with his uniform. "We did what we could, but we're going to have to get you a complete new set. I'll order it tonight and get it here express."
He handed it over and set to work rolling his sleeves up. Neil had gotten blood on his shirt when he grabbed Wymack's arm. It took Wymack a bit of tugging to hide all of it. Neil thought he should apologize, but he didn't think Wymack would let him. Instead he squeezed excess water from the hem and sleeves of his jersey.
"It's as dry as we could get it," Wymack said, looking up at the splatter of water against the floor. "Matt brought back one of the girls' hair dryers, but Abby didn't want to use it for fear of setting the stain."
"If anyone asks, I'll tell them it was a pre-game prank," Neil said. "It's technically the truth."
Neil finished getting dressed. Wymack gave him a once-over, deemed him fit for public scrutiny with an unconvincing nod, and shooed Neil ahead of him out of the locker room. This close to serve the team had already finished warm-ups and stretches. Neil took a couple laps on his own while Wymack ran his team through a pre-game spiel. Wymack was done by the time Neil came back, and Neil abruptly became the center of attention.